▶ PRICING CARBON A FAILED STRATEGY THAT WON'T SAVE THE CLIMATE . "We cannot deal with climate change through crisis-prone markets that subsidise dirty energy firms.....carbon pricing – the notion that we can best reduce pollution by extending private property rights to pollution – had a fatal flaw at its core. Prices can never reflect true ecological values because those values simply cannot be expressed in dollar terms....http://climateandcapitalism.com/2013/06/23/pricing-carbon-a-failed-strategy-that-wont-save-the-climate/

ClimateProgress, March 12, 2015▶ BOMBSHELL: LAND, OCEAN CARBON SINKS ARE WEAKENING, MAKING CLIMATE ACTION MORE URGENT - We are destroying nature’s ability to help us stave off catastrophic climate change. That’s the bombshell conclusion of an under-reported 2014 study, “The declining uptake rate of atmospheric CO2 by land and ocean sinks,”

Environmental News Network, September 22, 2014▶ CARBON CAPTURE IS A BAD IDEA: TECHNOLOGY AND CLIMATE ACTION - Some scientists and analysts are touting carbon capture and storage as a necessary tool for avoiding catastrophic climate change. But critics of the technology regard it as simply another way of perpetuating a reliance on fossil fuels.http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/47863

The Register, June 28, 2010

▶ CARBON STORAGE, SEQUESTRATION ' AS BAD AS NUCLEAR WASTE'A Danish climate geophysicist scientist, Prof. Gary Shaffer, has published a paper criticising carbon sequestration - the idea of dealing with CO2 emissions by stuffing the greenhouse gas away into underground or deep-sea storage where it (supposedly) can't affect the atmosphere.The more commonly advocated plan of pumping CO2 into disused oil or gas fields doesn't meet with Shaffer's approval either. He points out that these subterranean/subsea reservoirs are scarcely leak-proof....http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/28/sequestration_no_no_shaffer/

One of our biggest potential climate allies is directly under our feet: soil. Healthy, living soil has an enormous capacity to store carbon. In fact, carbon stored in soil accounts for roughly three times the amount stored in the atmosphere! Improving the health of degraded soil holds tremendous potential to mitigate climate changehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KamMRhlu9dA

▶ SMOKE OVER SUMATRA: WHY INDONESIA'S FIRES ARE A GLOBAL CONCERN. Scientists estimate that during the Indonesian fires of 1997, between 0.81-2.67 gigatons of carbon were released into Earth’s atmosphere (Page et al 2002). This is comparable to 13-40% of the fossil fuels emitted globally that same year, catapulting Indonesia to be ranked the world’s third highest emitter of greenhouse gases (after China and the USA) according to some indices ...http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0626-op-ed-miles-fisher.html

▶ HOW RIGGED IS THE FOSSIL FUEL MARKET? IN A WORD, "OVERWHELMING". AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE -- THE TRUE COST OF FOSSIL FUELS. Fossil fuel company executives and D.C. politicians have long worked together to ensure coal and oil prices stay low enough to keep Americans hooked. Here's how we can break the addiction.... Industry gets tax breaks, subsidies, military support in volatile regions, the right to use our air and water like a sewer, and assurance that the government will clean up its environmental messes. Politicians get campaign contributions, a steady flow of dirty energy, and a talking point to brandish about how they kept gas affordable...http://www.treehugger.com/energy-policy/true-cost-fossil-fuels.html?campaign=daily_nl

Center for American Progress, December 22, 2014 -▶FOSSIL-FUEL INDUSTRY SPENT "BIG" TO SET ANTI-ENVIRONMENT AGENDA FOR THE NEXT U.S. CONGRESS : A legislative rider that was quietly attached to a major defense funding bill earlier this month marked a watershed change in the political fortunes of the coal, oil, and gas industries and their return to power in Washington, D.C.

The Film Setting Out to 'Change Your Attitude About Fuel Forever' Directed by Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell, and narrated by Jason Bateman, the film “tells the story of America's addiction to oil, from its corporate conspiracy beginnings to its current monopoly today, and explains clearly and simply how we can end it — and finally win choice at the pump.”http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/marketing_comms/sustainable_brands

THE MANY WAYS MULTINATIONALS BOTH DRIVE AND PROFIT FROM CLIMATE DESTRUCTION. Multinational corporations are relentlessly expanding their operations into ever more vulnerable and remote regions of the planet. As they do so they both drive the climate crisis and exacerbate its impacts. They bear responsibility for a global crisis which affects us all, and they bring social and environmental destruction to the local communities where they operate.http://democracyctr.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Corporate_Conquistadors-EN-webFINAL.pdf

VIDEO Moyers and Company, May 16, 2014THE WAR ON CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENTISTS Bill Moyers and Dr. David Suzuki, ScientistClimate Change and Government Collusion with the Petrochemical iIndustry.... killing the messenger is a 50-year-0ld strategy ripped straight from big tobacco’s playbook. “This is a very effective thing that we know has been done by the tobacco industry [and] it’s being done by the fossil fuel industry…http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-the-war-on-climate-scientists/

▶ AMERICA'S DIRTIEST SECRET: The oil and gas industry’s contamination problems are so large, they have been deemed impossible to prevent or clean up by both industry and government. An unimaginable tonnage of contamination is being placed into our environment every year thanks to lax regulation of exploration and production wasteshttp://www.boulderweekly.com/article-12516-americarss-dirtiest-secret.html

▶ SOVEREIGN DEBTS IN A FOSSIL-FUELED WORLD.Advanced economies – steeped in debt, with infrastructure and tax policies built around fossil fuels – resist innovation on new fuels or efforts to stem climate change and pollution. Hickey suggests that “Most world governments are so compromised with the fossil-fuel industry they cannot easily walk away without leaving their financial coffers worse off as the true costs of energy are hidden in a producer and consumer subsidy labyrinth that promotes the addiction.” Eliminating subsidies for the fossil-fuel industry, highlighting the true costs, would speed up the development of alternative energies. – YaleGlobal http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/sovereign-debts-fossil-fueled-world

DRILLING FINITE WATER UNDERGROUND TO QUENCH CALIFORNIA'S THIRST: COMPETING CONCERNS. California is facing its worst drought in generations -- bad news for the state where nearly half of the nation's fruits and vegetables are grown. With water from rivers and reservoirs in short supply, attention has turned to how to manage the state's groundwater. How much can be safely pumped from underground?http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/drilling-to-quench-californias-water-needs-raises-debate/

THE POWER OF WATER RIGHTS HuffPost Green, May 26, 2014▶ CALIFORNIA DROUGHT: "SENIOR RIGHTS HOLDERS" DOMINATED BY CORPORATIONS AND AGRICULTURAL CONCERNS ARE NOT OBLIGED TO CONSERVE WATER. Nobody knows how much water they actually use, though it amounts to trillions of gallons each year, according to a review of their own reports by The Associated Press. Together, they hold more than half the rights to rivers and streams in California...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/27/california-drought_n_5395501.html

-▶ CALIFORNIA DROUGHT: CENTRAL VALLEY FARMLAND ON ITS LAST LEGS.Only sensible solution is to retire hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. Decades of irrigation have leached salts and toxic minerals from the soil that have nowhere to go, threatening crops and wildlife. Aquifers are being drained at an alarming pace. More than 95 percent of the area's native habitat has been destroyed by cultivation or urban expansion, leaving more endangered bird, mammal and other species in the southern San Joaquin than anywhere in the continental U.S. http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-drought-Central-Valley-farmland-on-5342892.php

ClimateCentral, October 06, 2014▶CALIFORNIA DROUGHT IS SO BAD, EVEN ITS HYDROPOWER IS DRYING UP. Conditions are so dire that the California State Water Project, which provides supplemental water to 29 public water agencies, can only deliver 5 percent of the amount of water those agencies requested this year, he said. With less water filling the state’s reservoirs than usual, hydroelectric dams’ ability to produce electricity is drastically reduced.http://www.climatecentral.org/news/drought-dries-up-california-hydropower-18141

Santa Cruz Sentinel, December 07, 2014▶DROUGHT DRIES RURAL WELLS, RESIDENTS CARRY WATER IN BUCKETS. Only hours from Silicon Valley and Hollywood, in a state with the eighth-largest economy in the world, these desperate Californians are getting water in ways usually seen only in developing nations. They take water donated by charities or governments and store it in bottles, buckets, barrels and horse troughs. groundwater levels that have plummeted to all-time lows in many areas. In some communities in the San Joaquin Valley, groundwater has fallen more than 100 feet below previous record-setting levels.http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/environment-and-nature/20141207/drought-dries-rural-wells-residents-carry-water-in-buckets

REPORT WARNS OF DWINDLING WATER SUPPLY REACHING CRISIS POINT IN USA WESTERN STATEShttp://sco.lt/59iE3l

National Geographic, February 13, 2014

▶COULD CALIFORNIA'S MEGA DROUGHT LAST 200 YEARS? Two years into California's drought, Donald Galleano's grapevines are scorched shrubs, their charcoal-colored stems and gnarled roots displaying not a lick of life. "I've never seen anything like this," says Galleano, 61, the third-generation owner of a 300-acre vineyard in Mira Loma, California, that bears his name. "It's so dry ... There's been no measurable amount of rain."http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140213-california-drought-record-agriculture-pdo-climate/

Nightly Business Report, October 20, 2014▶‘DROUGHT' BEER: CALIFORNIA BREWERIES HIT DRY TIMES. This drought is the most severe on record, and there’s no end in sight. Agriculture operations and manufacturers across California are drilling deeper, paying more, and competing with each other, with wildlife and with residents for water. But in the brewing business, it’s not just the water going into the cans which is now at a premium. It’s the water used to clean tanks... http://nbr.com/2014/10/20/drought-beer-california-breweries-hit-dry-times/

▶ AN ALARMING INSIGHT INTO OUR MELTING ICE GLACIERS AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR PLANET AND YOU. For the First Time in Human History We are Witnessing an Unprecedented Change to our Environment and Planet. Ice is far more sensitive to temperature changes than we thought and ice is melting twice as fast as a decade ago.

NASA, November 12, 2014▶ VIDEO: A NASA PERSPECTIVE: FOUR DECADES OF SEA ICE LOSS FROM SPACE : THE FUTURE. Scientists have used satellites to observe the retreat of Arctic sea ice from above. But the bigger challenge – now and in the coming years – is understanding what is happening below.The retreat of Arctic sea ice could have significant implications for ocean circulation, atmospheric circulation and even weather patterns in the continental U.S. and other populated areas. http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-perspective-four-decades-of-sea-ice-from-space-the-future/

Planet Earth OnLine, January 13, 2014▶ GLACIER'S RETREAT IS NOW IRREVERSIBLE - SCIENTISTSPine Island Glacier, the largest single contributor to sea-level rise in Antarctica, has started shrinking, say scientists.Pine Island glacier. The work, published in Nature Climate Change, shows the glacier's retreat may have begun an irreversible process that could see the amount of water it is adding to the ocean increase five-fold...http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1588&cookieConsent=A

Truthout, December 26, 2013▶ CLIMATE CHANGE 2013: WHERE WE ARE NOW - NOT WHAT YOU THINK - To prevent increasingly dangerous climate change, the public and our leaders must be convinced to act decisively and robustly. As the latest data show, changes are occurring more quickly than scientists have ever predicted, and simple emissions reductions are no longer the answer.http://truth-out.org/news/item/20751-climate-change-2013-where-we-are-now-not-what-you-think

Summit County Citizens Voice, January 30, 2015FIVE YEARS ON: STUDY FINDS MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL FROM DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER BURIED IN GULF OF MEXICO. Five years after BP’s failed Deepwater Horizon drill rig spewed 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, a significant amount of that oil remains buried in seafloor sediments. A new study by a Florida State University researcher estimates that about 6 to 10 million gallons of oil are still there, perhaps decomposing slowly, but probably affecting Gulf ecosystems. “This is going to affect the Gulf for years to come,” said researcher Jeff Chanton. “Fish will likely ingest contaminants because worms ingest the sediment, and fish eat the worms. It’s a conduit for contamination into the food web,” he said sedimentshttp://summitcountyvoice.com/2015/01/30/study-finds-massive-amounts-of-oil-from-deepwater-horizon-disaster-buried-in-gulf-of-mexico-sediments/

TruthOut, April 09, 2015WHAT IS THE US GOVERNMENT NOT TELLING US ABOUT FRACKING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO?

RT Business, March 04, 2015BP CEO GETS 35% PAY RISE IN 2014 - FREEZES PAY OF ITS 84,000 WORKFORCE AROUND THE WORLD.Dudley's remuneration rose from $10.17 million in 2013 to $12.74 million last year, according to BP’s annual report released Tuesday. He also received $9.8 million in share awards. In January the company cuts its capital spending program and imposed a salary freeze, weeks after axing hundreds of jobs in Scotland and thousands more globally as a result of falling oil prices and profits. http://rt.com/business/237617-bp-dudley-remuneration-rise/

BP was banned from preforming any work in the US in 2012 and now the suspension has been lifted. They are back in the oil game. They had to pay a $4.5 billion fine, admit to lying about the damages, plead guilty, and now they are back in business. Their incident caused the death of 11 workers and the destruction of the Gulf of Mexico. Their attempts to make it better were pathetic. It is interesting how people can put a dollar value to the damage and death of people and a huge mass of water and fish population.

This was a huge example of poor corporate social responsibility and the damages are still taking its toll. Reading about the research on how the fish and sea creatures are still being affected 5 years later. The response that the BP representatives are giving in respect to the research on how the fish's hearts are being affected just shows that they are still not practicing good corporate social responsibility and it is sad to see how little a company will take care for their mistakes and the world they live in.

▶ KRILL SUPER TRAWLERS PUSHING PENGUINS TOWARD EXTINCTION...Penguins are threatened with extinction by climate change and giant fishing trawlers from Europe and Asia stalking the oceans around Antarctica. Penguins are a protected species, but the factory-sized trawlers are vacuuming up the tiny shrimp-like krill that are their main food source. The Southern Ocean is also becoming increasingly acidic from emissions of fossil fuels and will have a significant impact on krill populations. And yet efforts to create two marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean have been blocked by China, Russia and Norway....http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/04/krill-super-trawlers-pushing-penguins-toward-extinction/

-▶ OBAMA'S ARCTIC STRATEGY SETS OFF A CLIMATE TIME BOMB.US National Strategy for the Arctic Region prioritises corporate 'economic opportunities' at the expense of everyone else

At the heart of the White House's new Arctic strategy is an elementary but devastating contradiction between what President Obama, in the document's preamble, describes as seeking "to make the most of the emerging economic opportunities in the region" due to the rapid loss of Arctic summer sea ice, and recognising "the need to protect and conserve this unique, valuable, and changing environment."...http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/earth-insight/2013/may/17/obama-arctic-energy-security-climate

Deutche Welle, February 07, 2014-▶ ARE WE PREPARED FOR A CATASTROPHE IN THE ARCTIC?As climate change warms the Arctic, oil rigs are opening, ships are making use of new shipping routes and tourists are flocking to see the icebergs. But experts warn that we are not adequately prepared for accidents. http://www.dw.de/are-we-prepared-for-a-catastrophe-in-the-arctic/a-17412856

-▶ OFFSHORE OIL: SHELL'S CHALLENGE IN DRILLING FOR ARCTIC OIL ,Over a year ago, Royal Dutch Shell began oil drilling operations offshore of Alaska, the first attempt to explore the outer continental shelf in two decades. But Shell's initial foray proved disastrous. After sinking $5 billion into the effort, not a single well was drilled and its rig ran aground. Shell racked up big fines for faulty equipment, pollution and safety violations and sat out the last season. Outgoing Shell CEO Peter Voser called the Arctic one of his biggest disappointments. Elizabeth Arnold, based in Alaska, looked into the state of Arctic oil exploration in the U.S...http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/shells-challenge-drilling-arctic-oil

ClimateProgress, December 27, 2013 -▶ IN THE MIDST OF RECORD OIL BOOM, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SEEKS MORE OIL PRODUCTION.

America produced an average of 7.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2013, an increase of one million barrels per day and the biggest one-year jump in the nation’s history, FuelFix reported Thursday. The U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA) estimates production will grow by another one million barrels in 2014 and will peak at a whopping 9.5 million barrels per day in 2016.

The Arctic, a large portion of which is controlled or claimed by Russia, is a new carbon El Dorado, holding up to a quarter of the globe’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves. According to one energy industry insider: "Climate change is opening up one of the last frontiers for hydrocarbons on our planet. The Arctic … could be set for rapid change and development as exploration, production and infrastructure will have an inevitable, irreversible impact."http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/24/why-geoengineering-suits-russias-carbon-agenda

THE UTILITY MONOPOLY MUST END: EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO PRODUCE HIS OR HER OWN POWER FROM THE SUN. WHY SOLAR? THE SUN EMERGES EVERY DAY. WIND POWER CAN ONLY GENERATE WHEN RELIABLE WIND BLOWS.

April 10, 2013 - Grist

▶ SOLAR PANELS COULD DESTROY UTILITY MONOPOLIES, ACCORDING TO U.S. UTILITIES

The Washington Post, March 07, 2015▶ UTILITIES WAGE CAMPAIGN AGAINST ROOFTOP SOLAR. Three years ago, the nation’s top utility executives gathered at a Colorado resort to hear warnings about a grave new threat to operators of America’s electric grid: not superstorms or cyberattacks, but rooftop solar panels.

November 24, 2014▶ KILLING THEIR OWN COMPETITIVENESS, Among many self-styled “conservatives”, the idea that we could provide for ourselves more cheaply and efficiently, produce energy from the free flow of the sun and wind, or become independent of the giant energy corporations that control our lives, (and fund so many politicians), is considered a dangerous subversion. We see it at both the Federal, and State level...http://climatecrocks.com/2014/11/27/killing-their-own-competitiveness/

Triple Pundit, November 13, 2014▶ CHINA'S 20% RENEWABLES COMMITMENT A CHALLENGE TO U.S. UTILITIES, China’s massive commitment to renewable energy will create economies of scale that will shatter current price levels around the world. Its success will bring to scale the technologies and processes required to integrate renewable energy into an electrical grid. China is on a path that will push the U.S. electric utility industry over a renewable energy cliff.http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/11/chinas-20-renewable-energy-commitment-challenges-u-s-electric-utility-industry/

"Back in January, the Edison Electric Institute — the (typically stodgy and backward-looking) trade group of U.S. investor-owned utilities — released a report [PDF] that, as far as I can tell, went almost entirely without notice in the press. That’s a shame. It is one of the most prescient and brutally frank things I’ve ever read about the power sector. It is a rare thing to hear an industry tell the tale of its own incipient obsolescence."

Even as concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in human history last week, a new study in Nature Climate Change warns that thousands of the world's common species will suffer grave habitat loss under climate change... http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0513-hance-climate-habitat.html

RT New, October 29, 2014- ▶ 700 YEAR OLD VIRUS FROM ANCIENT CARIBOUS POOP REVIVED, INFECTS LIVING PLANT.Scientists have successfully revived a 700-year-old virus that was frozen within ancient caribou feces, using it to infect a modern-day plant. The development raises the possibility that global warming could resurrect other infectious viruses.http://rt.com/usa/200287-ancient-poop-virus-revived-infects/

Earthblog, August 04, 2014 ▶ NEW SCIENCE SUGGESTS MORE LAND-BASED ECOSYSTEMS LOST THAN BIOSPHERE CAN BEARAn important scientific journal article published today finds that 66% of Earth’s land area must be maintained as natural and agro-ecological ecosystems to sustain a livable environment. Yet about 50% have already been lost, threatening global biosphere collapse http://www.ecointernet.org/2014/08/04/biosphere_collapse/

▶ "THE WHOLE BELT FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE CANADIAN BORDER TO NORTHERN ARGENTINA IS GOING TO BE JUST DESERT IN 100 YEARS." BRINGING WITH IT A WIDE ARRAY OF EPIDEMIC ILLNESSES - THREATENING CIVILIZATIONReporter Linda Marsa investigated the impact of global warming on our health. Cover your mouth: What she found is terrifying.

-▶ AN UNRECOGNIZABLE ARCTICArctic systems may be reaching “tipping points” [2]—critical moments in time where a small change has large, potentially irreversible impacts (see sidebar)http://climate.nasa.gov/news/958

-▶ GLOBAL WARMING: MAJOR NEW REPORT WARNS OF 'ARCTIC SQUEEZE'. An entire bio-climatic zone, the high Arctic, may disappear.FRISCO — Rapid climate change in the Arctic is putting enormous pressure on ecosystems, threatening biodiversity and the fundamental way of life of indigenous Arctic peoples, scientists said in a major new report.“An entire bio-climatic zone, the high Arctic, may disappear. Polar bears and the other highly adapted organisms cannot move further north, so they may go extinct. We risk losing several species forever,” said Hans Meltofte of Aarhus University, chief scientist of the report.http://summitcountyvoice.com/2014/02/15/global-warming-report-warns-of-arctic-squeeze/

-▶ MARINE SCIENTIST ALARMED ABOUT INCREASING THREAT TO OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS. In the last 30 years, coastal resources such as mangroves, coral reefs and fishery resources have become depleted on a large scale. For example, more than 60 per cent of Asia’s mangroves have already been converted to aquaculture farms (ESCAP and ADB, 2000). The region is losing its resource bases to support people’s livelihoods and sustain future economic development. http://www.unescobkk.org/news/article/marine-scientists-alarmed-about-increasing-threats-to-ocean-ecosystems/

WHERE ARE THE REGULATIONS AND LIABILITY FOR POISONING OUR WATER, SOILS AND LAYING WASTE TO OUR ENVIRONMENT? WHY IS THE FRACKING INDUSTRY NOT BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR LAND & IMMINENT DOMAIN GRABS, PAYING TAXES AND COLLATERAL/ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE? AND DON'T BUY THE "JOBS" CARD - IT'S A PLOY.

ScienceDaily, December 16, 2014▶ FRACKING CHEMICALS DISRUPT HORMONE FUNCTION. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, are substances that can interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system. EDCs can be found in manufactured products as well as certain foods, air, water and soil. Research has linked EDC exposure to infertility, cancer and birth defects. “More than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb hormone function,”http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131216140428.htm

Fracking into underground drinking water sources is not prohibited by the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which exempted the practice from key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Oil companies get a free ride at expense of both environmental and human health with little or no oversight or regulation. Damage May Be Irreversible

ProPublica, June 21, 2014- ▶ INJECTION WELLS: THE POISON BENEATH US. There are more than 680,000 underground waste and injection wells nationwide..."In 10 to 100 years we are going to find out that most of our groundwater is polluted...A lot of people are going to get sick, and a lot of people may die." ...Over the past several decades, The boom in oil and natural gas drilling has injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation's geology as an invisible dumping ground.

No company would be allowed to pour such dangerous chemicals into the rivers or onto the soil. But until recently, scientists and environmental officials have assumed that deep layers of rock beneath the earth would safely entomb the waste for millennia. There are growing signs they were mistaken.http://www.propublica.org/article/injection-wells-the-poison-beneath-us

What started as a short YouTube video and a couple of local news interviews about a Texas landowner being able to light his water on fire has ballooned into a free speech fight.Steve Lipsky has complained for years that fracking company Range Resources polluted his drinking water and streams that run through his property. The company sued him in 2011 for defaming its reputation for "environmental stewardship".

-▶ TRADING WATER FOR FUEL IS FRACKING CRAZY, Dr. David Suzuki. It would be difficult to live without oil and gas. But it would be impossible to live without water. Yet, in our mad rush to extract and sell every drop of gas and oil as quickly as possible, we’re trading precious water for fossil fuels.http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/18/trading-water-for-fuel-fracking-crazy/

Waking Times, April 08, 2013 HOW FRACKING CAN MAKE WATER FLAMMABLEOne of the most outrageous and unbelievable effects of fracking in some areas is the phenomenon of tap water becoming flammable, straight from the tap, due to methane and other gasses leaching into ground wells and water supplies. Watching a faucet set on fire and hearing the stories of the people involved is not something that can be too readily dismissed, and here are a 5 examples of this:http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/04/08/5-videos-showing-fracking-make-water-flammable/

Rewire, February 26, 2014▶ FRACK DRILLING WASTE BEING DUMPED INTO OCEAN OFF CALIFORNIA COAST -- WITH LEGAL PERMIT !!Fracking wastewater contains more than just the chemicals used by oil and gas companies to break up the rocks, including toxic substances like methanol, benzene, naphthalene, and trimethylbenzene. It can also include nasties that it picks up from those deep rock formations, including lead and arsenic. And while safely disposing of such substances isn't easy in the best of situations, ocean disposal poses special risks for those who play in, live near, or eat fish from the sea.http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/petroleum/fracking-waste-is-being-dumped-into-the-ocean-off-californias-coast.html

LET THERE BE NO DOUBT: THIS GEO-ENGINEERING OUR CLIMATE CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT PROFIT, BIG PROFIT.... FOLLOW THE MONEY

EXCELLENT VIDEO REPORT

May 20, 2013 Democracy Now

As the carbon dioxide in the air hits 400 parts per million for the first time in human history, some are arguing that the best way address climate change is to use the controversial practice of geoengineering — the deliberate altering of the Earth’s ecological and climate systems to counter the effects of global warming. ...

The arguments for and against climate engineering revealing the extent of vested interests linking researchers, venture capitalists and corporations with Clive Hamilton, professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia, He’s the author of Earthmasters: The Dawn of the Age of Climate Engineering.

There’s virtually no regulation of geoengineering. And when it comes to sulfate aerosol spraying, there’s nothing to prevent a government, any government, or even a corporation or a billionaire with a messiah complex, from launching a program of taking control of the Earth’s weather by installing this kind of solar shield. So the absence of governance, the absence of regulation and the exclusion, particularly of people from poor and vulnerable countries, is a very serious concern…. ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/20/geoengineering_can_we_save_the_planet

BBC Environment, November 25, 2014- ▶ GEO-ENGINEERING: CLIMATE FIXES 'COULD HARM BILLIONS' : PRESENTS UNKNOWN OUTCOMESLong regarded as the most bizarre of all solutions for global warming, ideas for geo-engineering have come in for more scrutiny in recent years as international efforts to limit carbon emissions have failed. Now three combined research projects, led by teams from the universities of Leeds, Bristol and Oxford, have explored the implications in more detail.http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30197085

"The only way to avoid creating the risk of substantial temperature increases through Solar Radiation Management is concurrent strong reductions of Green House Gas emissions."

ScienceDaily, February 17, 2014- ▶ NEW STUDY: WARNING AGAINST ABRUPT STOP TO GEOENGINEERING METHOD (IF STARTED).The new study, published today, 18 February, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, has highlighted the risks of large and spatially expansive temperature increases if solar radiation management (SRM) is abruptly stopped once it has been implemented. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140217200823.htm

Skywatcher: September 12, 2012THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF ARTIFICIAL CLOUDS AND WEATHER MODIFICATION WEATHER MODIFICATION CAUSES CLIMATEMODIFICATION. Climatologists vastly underestimate the amount of deliberate weather modification programs, erroneously believing them to be occasional "experiments," and unaware that THOUSANDS of planned weather modification events occur every year in the U.S. and worldwide.https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=xx-STEA-Vqo

AND WHAT ABOUT ALL THESE PARTICLES RAINING DOWN ONTO EARTH, OUR SOIL, WATER, WILDLIFE, AGRICULTURE AND IMPACT ON BOTH ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN HEALTH?

- ▶ NEUROLOGIST WARNS OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE SURGE DUE TO CHEMTRAIL SPRAYINGWhat this means is that as you breathe in aluminum dust – nano-particles that rain down after a chemtrail spray, you are inhaling, via the olfactory nerves, a heavy metal that doesn’t belong in your body, and will directly affect your cognitive ability. This is not just a concern for older generations, as Blaylock informs us, but even for small children and babies. Even home air-filtering systems aren’t going to help, because the particles are nano-sized, far too small to be eliminated by even the most costly home air filter...http://www.nationofchange.org/neurologist-warns-neurodegenerative-disease-surge-due-chemtrail-spraying-1378712902

"WHAT" IN THE WORLD ARE THEY SPRAYING?Here is the story of a rapidly developing industry called Geo-engineering, driven by scientists, corporations, and governments intent on changing global climate, controlling the weather, and altering the chemical composition of soil and water - all supposedly for the betterment of mankind.http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/what-in-the-world-are-they-spraying/

IF YOU OWN THE CHEMICALS, YOU OWN OUR CHEMICAL DEPENDENT WORLD. NO CO-INCIDENCE THAT MONSANTO, WORLD LEADER IN THE CHEMICAL CARTEL, BUYS CLIMATE CORP INSURANCE CO HAVING LOBBYIED THE UN RE: CLIMATE GEOENGINEERING

- ▶ WHY GEOENGINEERING SUITS RUSSIA'S CARBON AGENDA, GIVEN THE COUNTRY'S FOSSIL FUEL STRATEGY IN THE ARCTICThe Arctic, a large portion of which is controlled or claimed by Russia, is a new carbon El Dorado, holding up to a quarter of the globe’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves. According to one energy industry insider: "Climate change is opening up one of the last frontiers for hydrocarbons on our planet. The Arctic … could be set for rapid change and development as exploration, production and infrastructure will have an inevitable, irreversible impact."http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/24/why-geoengineering-suits-russias-carbon-agenda

Climate change is the result, not the cause, of many factors involving human-caused destruction of the balance of environment within our planetary biosphere. We all need to simply stop our destructive ways and put our brilliant minds to finding a new way of living on this planet in harmony with our natural world. We have to cease raping and pillaging the planet for profit as if it is our private piggy bank. By collective focus on restoring the planet a new economy and criteria for "jobs" would automatically evolve. The old military minded capitalism mindset has lead us to this mess - and we must move past it if we are to survive. If we keep pushing we will not only destroy humanity but all life on Planet Earth. Why is it we can't envision something entirely different than the way we have been operating? Profiting from the destruction of our planet is insane.

We are ALREADY messing with nature, absolutely and catastrophically. We must stop that, no question, as soon as possible, as fast as feasible. Whatever we do should NOT be used as a substitute for eliminating all fossil fuel burning. Full stop!

But it simply won't be enough to merely stop burning fossil fuels, because it is too late to stop the reinforcing feedbacks that will make things much much worse. If we don't do anything more, then we are giving up, we are admitting defeat and accepting all the worsening destruction that follows.

To restore nature, we have NO choice but to mess with nature some more in order to actively counter the effects and the causes of global warming and all the rest of our destructive practices. We must do it right, of course, and not make things worse. It is not enough to deal with just the symptoms of the problems, but we must get at the underlying causes. We must do it on a global scale, because the problems are global. It won't be a short term solution because these are necessarily long term problems that require long term solutions.

We MUST save the planet by messing with nature. But we also must solve a large number of other problems that allowed us to get into this mess. Unrestrained irresponsible exploitation of nature for the benefit of a few is at the root of all those problems.

▶ PRICING CARBON A FAILED STRATEGY THAT WON'T SAVE THE CLIMATE . "We cannot deal with climate change through crisis-prone markets that subsidise dirty energy firms.....carbon pricing – the notion that we can best reduce pollution by extending private property rights to pollution – had a fatal flaw at its core. Prices can never reflect true ecological values because those values simply cannot be expressed in dollar terms....http://climateandcapitalism.com/2013/06/23/pricing-carbon-a-failed-strategy-that-wont-save-the-climate/

ClimateProgress, March 12, 2015▶ BOMBSHELL: LAND, OCEAN CARBON SINKS ARE WEAKENING, MAKING CLIMATE ACTION MORE URGENT - We are destroying nature’s ability to help us stave off catastrophic climate change. That’s the bombshell conclusion of an under-reported 2014 study, “The declining uptake rate of atmospheric CO2 by land and ocean sinks,”

Environmental News Network, September 22, 2014▶ CARBON CAPTURE IS A BAD IDEA: TECHNOLOGY AND CLIMATE ACTION - Some scientists and analysts are touting carbon capture and storage as a necessary tool for avoiding catastrophic climate change. But critics of the technology regard it as simply another way of perpetuating a reliance on fossil fuels.http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/47863

The Register, June 28, 2010

▶ CARBON STORAGE, SEQUESTRATION ' AS BAD AS NUCLEAR WASTE'A Danish climate geophysicist scientist, Prof. Gary Shaffer, has published a paper criticising carbon sequestration - the idea of dealing with CO2 emissions by stuffing the greenhouse gas away into underground or deep-sea storage where it (supposedly) can't affect the atmosphere.The more commonly advocated plan of pumping CO2 into disused oil or gas fields doesn't meet with Shaffer's approval either. He points out that these subterranean/subsea reservoirs are scarcely leak-proof....http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/28/sequestration_no_no_shaffer/

One of our biggest potential climate allies is directly under our feet: soil. Healthy, living soil has an enormous capacity to store carbon. In fact, carbon stored in soil accounts for roughly three times the amount stored in the atmosphere! Improving the health of degraded soil holds tremendous potential to mitigate climate changehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KamMRhlu9dA

▶ SMOKE OVER SUMATRA: WHY INDONESIA'S FIRES ARE A GLOBAL CONCERN. Scientists estimate that during the Indonesian fires of 1997, between 0.81-2.67 gigatons of carbon were released into Earth’s atmosphere (Page et al 2002). This is comparable to 13-40% of the fossil fuels emitted globally that same year, catapulting Indonesia to be ranked the world’s third highest emitter of greenhouse gases (after China and the USA) according to some indices ...http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0626-op-ed-miles-fisher.html

A GREENHOUSE GAS 20 TIMES MORE POTENT THAN CARBON DIOXIDE - have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region.... it’s strongly reminiscent of what is probably the worst possible climate scenario imaginable, a feedback loop so humongous and destructive that it would lead to runaway warming that makes today's runaway warming look tame by comparison. The last time this happened, it poisoned 90 percent of all life on earth with hydrogen sulfide gas, in a process described by paleontologist Peter Ward as "life killing itself off."...http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vast-methane-plumes-seen-in-arctic-ocean-as-sea-ice-retreats-6276278.html

▶ AN ALARMING INSIGHT INTO OUR MELTING ICE GLACIERS AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR PLANET AND YOU. For the First Time in Human History We are Witnessing an Unprecedented Change to our Environment and Planet. Ice is far more sensitive to temperature changes than we thought and ice is melting twice as fast as a decade ago.

Mongabay, February 25, 2014▶ IS BRAZIL'S EPIC DROUGHT A TASTE OF THE FUTURE?With more than 140 cities implementing water rationing, analysts warning of collapsing soy and coffee exports, and reservoirs and rivers running precipitously lowhttp://news.mongabay.com/2014/0225-brazil-epic-drought.html

Reuters, February 11, 2015▶ BRAZILIANS HOARD WATER, PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE DRASTIC RATIONINGBrazilians are hoarding water in their apartments, drilling homemade wells and taking other emergency measures to prepare for forced rationing that appears likely and could leave taps dry for up to five days a week because of a drought.In São Paulo, the country's largest city with a metropolitan area of 20 million people, the main reservoir is at just 6 percent of capacity with the peak of the rainy season now past.http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/us-brazil-drought-idUSKBN0LF1YP20150211

"THE LAST WALK FOR WATER" (11 min read)Two weeks ago, charity: water founder Scott Harrison hiked nine hours into a remote village in northern Ethiopia. He spent five nights living with the community, hoping to learn more about a girl whose story he'd heard over a year ago. What follows isn't a typical charity: water story. There are no pictures of smiling children or clean water, and there's no happy ending yet. However, we believe it should be told as it illustrates the urgency of our work and the reality of the water crisis. https://medium.com/thoughts-from-the-third-sector/979160375b4a

VIDEO (10:00)OUR FORESTS ARE DYING, ARE WE NEXT?Trees are the terrestrial lungs of the planet, and they are dying all over the globe. Government agencies and mainstream media are not reporting on the unfolding cataclysm of this die off.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPzix8TiHR8

▶ RIVERS WORK BEST WHEN THEY'RE WET.The water supply system in the Colorado River Basin is near its breaking point. Despite an above normal snowpack in the Rockies, climate change and prolonged drought have sapped the once-vigorous Colorado River, threatening the water supply for 36 million people, 15% of the nation’s agriculture, and a $26 billion recreation economy. - See more at: http://www.americanrivers.org/blog/rivers-work-best-when-theyre-wet/#sthash.jLQdgH3h.dpuf

Guardian Environment, February 8, 2014▶ WHY GLOBAL WATER SHORTAGES POSE THREAT OF TERROR AND WAR: U.S. INTELLIGENCEFrom California to the Middle East, huge areas of the world are drying up and a billion people have no access to safe drinking water. US intelligence is warning of the dangers of shrinking resources and experts say the world is 'standing on a precipice' http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/09/global-water-shortages-threat-terror-war

▶ 2012 BROUGHT EXTREME HEAT AND DROUGHT. BUT THAT'S NOTHING TO WHAT'S AROUND THE CORNER

2012 was the hottest year on record in the United States. Widespread drought, wildfires and extreme heat affected human health and caused food prices to skyrocket. According to new research out of Columbia University, however, last year’s heat wave may be nothing compared to what’s just around the corner.

Researchers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory predict that a megadrought, the likes of which haven’t been experienced since the 12th century, could hit planet Earth within the next eight years, and it might never leave [PDF]. The cause? According to scientists, this drought will be brought on by “anthropogenic radiative forcing”, also known as ‘stronger-than-normal greenhouse warming caused by climate pollution’.

▶ AQUIFER ALERT: Stretching across eight U,S states, the Ogallala aquifer is the lifeblood of agriculture on the Great Plains. But can it survive a future of drought, pollution, and pipelines? ... Underlying almost 175,000 square miles in eight states, the aquifer sustains nearly one-fifth of all wheat, corn, cotton, and cattle production in the United States. But several years of drought and decades of intensive crop irrigation have left it seriously depletedhttp://www.onearth.org/articles/2014/01/so-what-exactly-is-an-aquifer-we-explain

Eco-civilization: China's blueprint for a new era, provides international readers with an overview of key policy guidelines and priorities the country’s new leadership will adopt, focusing on its pioneering low carbon ‘eco-civilization’ concept, which will have a profound impact on China’s future economy. This is the first time that eco-civilization has been elevated to such a high-level, not only in parallel with, but also cutting across economic, political, cultural, and social systems. http://www.theclimategroup.org/_assets/files/China-Ecocivilisation.pdNRDC, April 24, 2014

▶ CHINA TO PRIORITIZE ENVIRONMENT OVER ECONOMY AND DEVELOPMENT Smog-hit China is set to pass a new law that would give Beijing more powers to shut polluting factories and punish officials, and even place protected regions off-limits to industrial development. While some details of the fourth draft are still under discussion, it has been agreed that the principle of prioritising the environment above the economy will be enshrined in law, according to scholars who have been involved in the process. The fourth draft is due to be completed within weeks. ...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/15/china-expected-to-elevate-environment_n_5150010.html

UNEP April 22, 2015 ESTABLISHING CHINA'S GREEN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

REPORT OF THE GREEN FINANCE TASK FORCE

The report is the outcome of a Green Finance Task Force which was tasked to develop policy, regulatory and market-innovations to better align China's financial system with the needs of green industry and sustainable development. The report recommends the development of financial institutions specialized in green lending and investment. http://www.unep.org/NewsCentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=26802&ArticleID=34981&l=en

The Guardian, January 07, 2015-▶ CHINA ENCOURAGES ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS TO SUE POLLUTERS.Groups that work to fight polluters judicially will gain special status and have court fees reduced, Supreme People’s Court says

Like many villages in China’s industrial heartland, Qiugang — a hamlet of nearly 1,900 people in Anhui province — has long suffered from runaway pollution from nearby factories. In Qiugang’s case, three major enterprises with little or no pollution controls churned out chemicals, pesticides, and dyes, turning the local river black, killing fish and wildlife, and filling the air with foul fumes that burned residents’ eyes and throats and sickened children. in 2007, Qiugang’s residents did something aboutit. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_warriors_of_qiugang_a_chinese_village_fights_back/2358/

Triple Pundit, November 13, 2014▶ CHINA'S 20% RENEWABLES COMMITMENT A CHALLENGE TO U.S. UTILITIES, China’s massive commitment to renewable energy will create economies of scale that will shatter current price levels around the world. Its success will bring to scale the technologies and processes required to integrate renewable energy into an electrical grid. China is on a path that will push the U.S. electric utility industry over a renewable energy cliff.http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/11/chinas-20-renewable-energy-commitment-challenges-u-s-electric-utility-industry/

New Scientist, December 16, 2014-▶ "GREAT GREEN WALL" HELPS CHINA TACKLE DESERTIFICATION: China has planted a "Great Green Wall" of trees across the north of the country in a bid to prevent the spread of the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts -- and the strategy appears to be working. "Vegetation has improved and dust storms have decreased significantly in the Great Green Wall region, compared with other areas," says Minghong Tan of Beijing's Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429994.900-great-wall-of-trees-keeps-chinas-deserts-at-bay.html#.VJA1WsaHenj

Earth Policy Institute, June 16, 2014▶ SOLAR POWER: CHINA LEADS WORLD TO SOLAR POWER RECORD IN 2013 In the last two years, countries around the world have added almost as much new solar photovoltaics (PV) capacity as had been added since the invention of the solar cell. Nearly 38,000 megawatts of PV came online in 2013, a new annual record. In all, the world’s installed PV generating capacity is now close to 140,000 megawatts—enough to power each home in Germany. Falling costs and effective policies continue to drive tremendous growth in solar power. http://www.earth-policy.org/indicators/C47/solar_power_2014

This series is about the generation that has inherited the waste, and a few members of that generation who are openly and actively trying to change the trajectory of the country to avoid disaster. Toronto Star,http://projects.thestar.com/chinas-generation-green/

Guardian Environment, December 20, 2014▶ 10 THING TO KNOW ABOUT CHINA, LATIN AMERICA AND THE ENVIRONMENT. New book argues Chinese firms’ presence in Latin America focuses on the most environmentally-damaging sectors

Treehugger, March 08, 2014 -▶ BUILDING A BUBBLE-like BIOME IN BEIJING COULD LET RESIDENTS BREATHE CLEAN AIR. Beijing's notorious air pollution has reached beyond hazardous levels in recent years, with the city covered in thick, toxic smog for a good part of the year. While the Chinese government has implemented various pollution-battling policies like car bans and the planting of green roofs, others like London-based design firm Orproject have gone down the road of more extreme design measures -- suggesting the building of bubble-like biomes, sealed from outside pollution, that would allow residents to actually breathe clean air.http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/beijing-bubbles-biome-clean-air-orproject.html

Ag Professional, August 01, 2014 -▶ CHINA ADOPTS STRICTER PESTICIDE RESIDUE STANDARD.The new standard includes 3,650 indices detailing the maximum allowable residue for 387 pesticides on 284 types of food, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Health and Family Planning Commission, which jointly issued the standard. Compared with the current standard that took effect in 2012, the new standard contains 1,357 new indices covering 65 new pesticides and 43 new types of food.The standard covers vegetables, fruits, grain, edible oil, sugar, soft drinks, nuts, eggs and meat. It includes juice and preserved fruits for the first time.http://www.agprofessional.com/news/China-adopts-stricter-pesticide-residue-standard-269591991.html

Come April of 2015 China is ready to set a new law that gives Beijing more power against factories that are polluting the environment. This new law will allow them to punish business officials and place protected regions off-limits to industrial development. This new law states that the environment is a priority and will give the power to environmental enforcers to “veto” production in the industries until they have met their targets. They are also looking to eliminate the punishment of maximum fine as companies will pay this fine and still continue on with their same procedures.

I think that it is important for people to see a CSR program within their government and I feel that it is too strongly geared towards strictly corporations. We have seen in some cases such as the United States where ultimately the corporations run the show but the government needs to take responsibility as they have put themselves in the position to take care of the people and they need to live up to it.

I believe that getting rid of the fine penalty will be very beneficial for Beijing, you see too many cases where through a cost/benefit analysis companies will chose to take the risk of a maximum fine as they will still make more profit. An alternate solution such as a shutdown of the company whether it is permanent or temporary will be a greater threat and result in a greater desired outcome and better cooperation

-▶ CLIMATE CHANGE AND INEQUALITY IS BREWING GLOBAL SOCIAL UPHEAVAL - WORLD BANK CHIEF. President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, is warning that the combined crises of planetary climate change and rising global inequality in a highly interconnected world will lead to the rise of widespread upheaval as the world's poor rise up and clashes over access to clean water and affordable food result in increased violence and political conflict. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/04/04

Guardian Sustainable Business, January 19, 2015 ▶ DAVOS 2015 : 'IT IS PROFITABLE TO LET THE WORLD GO TO HELL'

The Economic Times, January 20, 2015-▶ INDIA PM, NARENDRA MODI, CALLS FOR A "PARADIGM SHIFT" IN GLOBAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE, URGES NATIONS OF HIGH SOLAR POWER POTENTIAL TO JOIN HANDS. This would help poorer nations to provide low-cost clean energy to their citizens without being arm-twisted by the developed world who have been closely guarding their patented cutting-edge technology. The change of attitude which India pitched for seeks a shift from "carbon credit" through emission cuts (mitigation) to "green credit" through adopting energy efficient measures and investment in renewable sector (solar, wind and biomass) in a big way.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/environment/pollution/narendra-modi-calls-for-a-shift-in-global-attitude-to-meet-climate-goals/articleshow/45948075.cms

Yale Environment 360, July 02, 2014▶ 2047 : WHERE WILL EARTH HEAD AFTER ITS 'CLIMATE DEPARTURE'?The term “climate departure” has an odd ring, but its meaning is relatively straightforward. It marks the point at which the earth’s climate begins to cease resembling what has come before and moves into a ne